Somali piracy threatening Yemen | Yemen Times Somali piracy threatening Yemen hide Some of the key ports used by Somali pirates. Since 2005, Somali pirates started to move around the Yemeni waters to hijack ships and kidnap crews, asking for millions of dollars as ransoms and causing an ever-increasing problem for Yemen. Somali piracy in the 20th century began with the collapse of the state in 1991. As the security situation deteriorated, the smuggling of illegal immigrants as well as the smuggling weapons began to flourish. The marine forces collapsed and tribal leaders used the lack of security and the spread of their forces over Somali lands to extort tributes from passing ships. Day by day, pirates were threatening ships in the waters off Somalia. The Gulf of Aden became a piracy hotspot with high-profile ships and tankers taken hostage. It was 5pm on Mar. 8, 2005 when two sailing yachts, Mahdi and Gandalf were moving 30 miles off the coast of Aden to Oman.

Suddenly, two motor-powered boats, about 25 and 30 feet long with four armed men in each “came very fast directly at us,” Rodney Nowlin, a sailor of south Virginia told Noonsite, the global site for cruising sailors. Before these two boats approached, Nowlin said another two boats were observing them, each with three men on board. These boats just watched as the bigger two approached them. “The boats separated at about 200 yards, one boat ahead of the other, coming down Mahdi’s port side, and firing into the cockpit. The other boat was firing an automatic weapon at both Gandalf and Mahdi from ahead. These guys were shooting directly at the cockpits, and obviously intended to kill us,” Nowlin told Noonsite in May 2005. That incident was the first piracy attack in Yemeni waters in 2005, marking the start of a reign of terror against ships and oil tankers in Somalia’s surrounding waters. Soon after this attempt, the Yemeni Coast Guard Authority and other operational offices in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea increased their efforts in fighting piracy.

“In the beginning, pirates’ operations were confined to stealing small equipment from small ships,” said Shuja’ Al-Deen Al-Mahdi, the head of the Operational Unit at the Yemeni Coast Guard Authority (YCG). “But in 2005, their operations started to become increasing sophisticated; they were not satisfied with the small things they stole. Their operations were more professional and they started equipping themselves with guns and night vision goggles – not to mention the bigger and stronger boats they now use,” Al-Mahdi said. When the owners of the hijacked ships fail to pay the ransom, the pirates eventually use the captured vessels as “mother ships” from which to launch further attacks. According to the YCG records, piracy operations have grown year by year since 2005, with 2010 being their most active year. In 2010, 57 ships were hijacked in the Yemeni waters with 225 failed hijacking attempts. So far this year, the YCG has arrested 12 Somali pirates in Yemeni waters – though this doesn’t account for those picked up by international fleets more than 12 miles off the coast.

An international problem Worldwide, piracy began to increase in the early 1990s, peaking at roughly 350 to 450 reported attacks per year during the period 2000-2004, then declining by almost half by 2005. In 2007, almost half of the world’s reported pirate attacks took place in African waters, mainly near Nigeria and Somalia. However, the number of attacks in Somali waters doubled in 2008, according to a study by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) mentioned in the Congressional Research Services. In Yemen in 2007, 10 ships were hijacked with 20 failed attempts. 42 ships and boats were hijacked in 2008 and 46 ships and boats were hijacked in 2009. The IMB study found that at least 219 attacks occurred in the Horn of Africa in 2010, with 49 successful hijackings. Somali pirates have attacked ships in the Gulf of Aden, along Somalia’s eastern coastline, and outwards into the Indian Ocean.

The situation in Somalia, and the piracy threat, was the subject of an open debate at the UN Security Council in March 2011, during which the Council stressed the need for a “comprehensive strategy to encourage the establishment of peace and stability in Somalia.” According to the IBM study, the increase in pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa is directly linked to continuing insecurity and the absence of the rule of law in war-torn Somalia. Somalia’s “pirate economy” has also grown substantially in the past two years, with ransoms now averaging more than $5 million. These revenues may further exacerbate the ongoing conflict and undermine regional security. The annual cost of piracy to the global economy ranges between $7 and $12 billion. Piracy ports There are four main Somali ports where the country’s pirates receive support and where they can keep hijacked ships and boats, according to Al-Mahdi. The ports are providing pirates with fuel and other required equipment as well as keeping the ships and boats until their owners pay the ransoms. The main ports are Eyl, Hobye, Caluula and Xaafuun. “From Eyl port in particular come the most dangerous pirates,” said Al-Mahdi.

Negotiations between pirates and ships’ owners usually take place in Eyl, making it one of the most dangerous, he added. Somali pirates in Yemeni Of the 752 pirates currently facing prosecution in 11 countries, Yemen has arrested 120 pirates since 2005. During 2008 and 2009, Yemen detained 62 pirates. However, due to the high cost of keeping pirates in detention while they await prosecution, Yemen stopped detaining and trying Somali pirates submitted by international forces since 2009. These pirates were attacking ships in non-Yemeni regional waters, according to the CGA. Aesh Awwas, from the Sheba Center for Strategic Studies in Saba’a, says there are no specific laws covering the trial of pirates caught outside of Yemen. “Piracy in international waters has created a problem for Yemen as the country is not responsible for Somali pirates hijacking ships outside its waters,” said Awwas. Last month, ten pirates were sentenced to ten years each by the Criminal Court in Al-Mukalla after being in jail and awaiting prosecution for more than 11 months.

And last December, the Penal Court in Al-Mukalla sentenced twelve Somali pirates to thirteen years in jail for conducting piracy attacks in Yemeni and international waters. Some face even harsher sentences when caught; last year a Yemeni court sentenced six Somali pirates to death and jailed six others for the hijacking of an oil tanker they seized in April 2009. The pirates were captured by the CGA and found guilty of killing two of the oil tanker’s crew. A growing problem for Yemeni fishermen As the international navy has been fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden, Yemeni fishermen have also been caught up in the process. There have been at least three cases where Yemeni fishermen were assumed to be Somali pirates because of their dark-skinned color. “Some Yemenis are looking to piracy themselves, or even just ‘facilitating’ the piracy of others, be they Yemeni or Somali or of other nationalities,” Michael Frodl, head of US consultancy firm C-Level Maritime Risks, told the Financial Times last month. He blamed the situation on the ongoing political crisis in Yemen.

The Yemeni Coastal Guard Authority denied the accusation against Yemenis becoming involved in piracy, saying that 15 Yemeni fishermen were arrested and beaten after they were accused of piracy. Just a week before the incident in October, seven other men were beaten and their belongings taken, Umar Salim, the head of the Fishermen Association in Hadramout said. At present, five Yemeni fishermen from Mukala, Hadramout, remain in jail in India after the authorities assumed they were Somali pirates in May. Two months ago another boat in Yemeni waters was attacked by an Indian ship – the fishermen’s belongings, along with their fish, were thrown overboard. The men were also beaten according to Al-Mahdi. “Piracy has brought us problems that we have no connection with,” said Al-Mahdi, adding that with the passage of time, pirates keep using more sophisticated tactics, making it even harder to tackle the problem. While the CGA tries to catch the pirates within the allowed Yemeni waters – up to 12 miles off the Yemeni coast – the pirates are using mother ships further out to provide smaller piracy boats with equipment and fuel.

Al-Mahdi concluded: “The more we try to catch them and control piracy, the further away they go, hijacking ships from waters we cannot protect.”﻿﻿ African militants learn from Al Qaeda in Yemen | Public Radio International African militants learn from Al Qaeda in Yemen Yemeni soldiers attend the funeral procession of nine police cadets who were killed when an Al-Qaeda suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of a police academy, in Sanaa on July 14, 2012. Credit: MOHAMMED HUWAIS SANAA, Yemen — Yemen, a stone's throw from Somalia, has for years been the destination of choice for impoverished Somalis fleeing their troubled state. Now, another kind of Somali is heading to Yemen, and it appears to be swelling the ranks of Al Qaeda. Somalis belonging to the militant group Al Shabaab have been coordinating with Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) for several years. Al Shabaab sends them fighters who, in a worrisome development for counterterrorism experts, often return with bomb-making expertise that can be used all over Africa.

In March of this year alone, “Al Shabaab sent around 300 Somali militants to Yemen at AQAP’s request,” said Aysh Awas, director of security and strategic studies at Sheba, a think tank in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. The guerilla fighters were shipped off to help Al Qaeda in its intensifying struggle against the Yemeni army in southern Abyan province. Al Qaeda wrested Abyan from the government during last year’s political turmoil and managed to maintain control over it for about a year. More from GlobalPost: In-depth series: Al Qaeda in Africa Awas told GlobalPost there are now two types of Somali militants coming to Yemen. The first group consists of refugees who initially fled “the hell in Somalia to seek better economic opportunities in Yemen, but end up being financially exploited and recruited by AQAP,” he said. Somalis are the only nationality granted automatic refugee status in Yemen, which now hosts more than 200,000 of them. Ten thousand Somali refugees have arrived this year alone, according to a June survey by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The other group is made up of “prepared-recruited members of Al Shabaab,” he said.

Many of them arrived following the February inauguration of the country’s new President, Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi. Hadi, who is tasked with unifying the shattered country and reforming its deeply corrupt military ahead of multiparty elections in 2014, has partnered with Washington in the fight against AQAP. Yet despite the joint military campaign in which American special forces train troops on the ground and US-controlled drones target militants from the sky, Al Qaeda has continued to make advances in Yemen, in part due to the help of Somali militants. Last spring, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula formed a Taliban-like arm called Ansar Al Shari’a which seized several strategic cities along the Gulf of Aden. The move came as popular protests engulfed the central government in Sanaa, ultimately unseating longtime authoritarian leader Ali Abdullah Saleh. The recent influx of Al Shabaab fighters, who crossed the Gulf of Aden just weeks before President Hadi’s redeployment of US-trained ground troops to the remote province, is only the latest example of the cooperation between the two Al Qaeda affiliates, according to Katherine Zimmerman, a Gulf of Aden analyst at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

More from GlobalPost: Al Shabaab branches out beyond Somalia “Historical trade and smuggling routes that run between Yemen and Somalia tie the countries closely together and have likely served to aid the movement of individuals and material between the two countries,” she told GlobalPost. Awas dates the origins of the partnership to early 2010, when Al Shabaab announced its alignment with Al Qaeda, though Ayman al-Zawahiri, the global terror network’s current No. 1, did not formalize the union until early 2012. “Yemen's upheavals, which divided the military and security forces, together with increasing unrest in Somalia, have only facilitated the cooperation between the two parties,” Awas added.

According to Zimmerman, the relationship between Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Al Shabaab is exemplified by “documents found at Osama bin Laden's compound that indicate AQAP's leadership served as an interlocutor [between Al Shabaab and] Al Qaeda’s core in Pakistan,” and by “the case of Mohammed Abdullah Warsame — a Somali who received advanced [explosives and military] training in Yemen.” “One of the threats posed by such ties,” Zimmerman warned, “is the export of AQAP's advanced knowledge, such as its bomb-making expertise, back into Somalia and from there, into Kenya and the rest of East Africa as well as across the Sahel and into West Africa.” Al Qaeda in in the Arabian Peninsula and Al Shabaab appear to be engaging with Somali pirates as well. More from GlobalPost: In Africa, Al Qaeda finds new life During a GlobalPost visit to Abyan province in July, a Yemeni intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that, “Somali pirates and the [Al Qaeda] land fighters are closely linked.

Pirates are taking over ships and kidnapping, and some of the money from the heists is eventually going to AQAP, which is greatly impacting stability in the region,” he said. Yet despite the growing evidence of links between Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Al Shabaab, Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University’s Department of Near East Studies, said the trans-Gulf of Aden partnership remains murky. “There is still a great deal we simply don't know,” he said. “It is unclear how much of the crossover from Somali to Yemen and back is based on personal relationships between individuals in Yemen and Somalia, as opposed to organizational instructions.” While you are here... The work we do has never been more important — whether it’s because of “news” that might not be news at all or healing the deep divides in our country. Now more than ever, we need conversation, perspective and diverse voices. Will you support PRI in our efforts to create a more informed empathetic world?

Somali pirates seize Yemen oil tanker, says official | GulfNews.com Somali pirates seize Yemen oil tanker, says official Somali pirates seized an empty Yemeni oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday and two pirates were killed in clashes as the Yemeni coast guard tried to free the vessel, a Yemeni government official said. Published: 19:29 April 26, 2009 Agencies Sana'a : Somali pirates seized an empty Yemeni oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday and two pirates were killed in clashes as the Yemeni coast guard tried to free the vessel, a Yemeni government official said. The official said three pirates and two Yemeni coast guards were also wounded in the exchange. The tanker, Qana, can carry 3,000 tonnes but was not carrying a cargo when it was seized off the coast of the Arabian Peninsula country, the official told reporters. Yemen, across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia, is a small producer of oil and exports 200,000 barrels per day. On Sunday pirates freed the Yemeni-owned Sea Princess II tanker that had been captive since January 2.

An Italian ship used guns and a firehose to beat off an attack by pirates off the east African coast, the vessel's captain said on Sunday. Yemenis seek refuge in Somalia and Djibouti - BBC News BBC News Yemenis seek refuge in Somalia and Djibouti 1 April 2015 Close share panel Image copyright Reuters Image caption Parts of Yemen have been hit by Saudi air force strikes, forcing many to flee the country Dozens of Yemenis have crossed the Gulf of Aden in small boats to get to Somalia, Djibouti and Somaliland to escape fighting and Saudi air strikes, the UN refugee agency has said. The UNHCR said it was looking for a possible site for the refugees in Djibouti in case the fighting worsens. At the same time Somali refugees are still continuing to arrive in Yemen to escape violence and poverty at home. Yemen hosts more than 238,000 Somali refugees, the UNHCR says.

The UNHCR said that at least 32 Yemenis "fleeing conflict" landed on Somalia's northern coastline after crossing the treacherous Gulf of Aden and landing in the semi-autonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland. BBC Africa analyst Mary Harper says that the idea of Yemenis seeking refuge on Somali soil is striking - because it is normally a place to run away from, not towards. The UN says the authorities in the Somaliland port town of Berbera - on the Gulf of Aden - are doing what they can to help. About 12 Yemeni families recently arrived at Berbera after travelling from Yemeni's third largest city of Taiz, where Saudi planes targeted Houthi rebels, officials said on Tuesday. In the meantime, hundreds of migrants are continuing to flood in the opposite direction, from Somalia to Yemen. The UN said more than 1,500 arrived last week alone. Concerns are also being raised in Somalia over potential recriminations against Somali refugees in Yemen after the Somali government voiced its support for the Saudi-led air strikes against Houthi fighters.

Map of Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Aden Location Facts, Major Bodies of Water, Asia - World Atlas Map of Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Aden Location Facts, Major Bodies of Water, Asia other bodies of water The Gulf of Aden is an extension of the Indian Ocean. Located between Africa and Asia, it forms the natural separation between the countries of Somalia and Yemen. Gulf of Aden waters flow into the Red Sea through the Bab el Mandeb (strait), and because it provides an outlet to the west for Persian Gulf Oil, it's now one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. In that regard, piracy is a major problem in these waters, especially for small sailboats and yachts. Many international sources now warn all small craft to avoid this gulf. Recently, even large tankers have been hijacked and held for ransom. Terrorism is also a problem. It was here in 2000 that the USS Cole, a U.S. guided missile destroyer, was involved in a suicide bombing attack while harboring in the port of Aden. Seventeen sailors died, with dozens injured.

Somalia Somalia Area: 637,657 square kilometers (246,201 square miles) Highest point on mainland: Mount Shimbiris (2,416 meters/7,927 feet) Lowest point on land: Sea level Hemispheres: Northern and Eastern P.M.

= GMT Longest distances: 1,847 kilometers (1,148 miles) from north-northeast to south-southwest; 835 kilometers (519 miles) from east-southeast to west-northwest Land boundaries: 2,366 kilometers (1,470 miles) total boundary length; Djibouti 58 kilometers (36 miles); Ethiopia 1,626 kilometers (1,010 miles); Kenya 682 kilometers (424 miles) Coastline: 3,025 kilometers (1,880 miles) Territorial sea limits: 370 kilometers (200 nautical miles) 1 LOCATION AND SIZE Somalia is located on the Horn of Africa, a peninsula on the eastern coast of Africa that separates the Gulf of Aden to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east and south. The country also shares borders with Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. With an area of about 637,657 square kilometers (246,201 square miles), the country is slightly smaller than the state of Texas.

Somalia is divided into eighteen administrative regions. 2 TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES In the northwest, along the Gulf of Aden, the Republic of Somaliland, with some 3.5 million people, declared its independence from Somalia in 1991. This claim of independence has yet to be recognized internationally, however. While Somaliland does have a functioning government of its own, it is still officially considered to be a part of Somalia. 3 CLIMATE Somalia has an arid or semiarid climate. In normal years there are four seasons, two with rain and two essentially without rain. December through March, the time of the northeast monsoon winds, is a very dry season, with moderate temperatures in the north and hot temperatures in the south. April through June is a spring-like rainy season with hot temperatures. July through September, the time of the southwest monsoon winds, is a dry and hot season. October and November is a humid, sporadically rainy season. Somalia's average temperature is between 25°C and 28°C (77°F and 82°F).

Temperatures fall as low as 0°C (32°F) in the mountains of the north and reach as high as 47°C (117°F) on the coasts. In non-drought times, Somalia's average annual rainfall is only 28 centimeters (11 inches). Droughts can strike Somalia when rainfall decreases even slightly. Their effects are worsened by factors such as over-grazing, erosion, disruptions of nomadic routes, and breakdowns in water access and food distribution. These problems can also cause severe flooding. Major droughts ravaged Somalia in 1974-75, 1984-85, 1992, 1999, and 2001. Flooding caused damage in 1997 and 2002. 4 TOPOGRAPHIC REGIONS The land of Somalia consists mostly of plateau regions that rise to hills in the northern part of the country. Somalia is predominantly scrubland and desert. Only 13 percent of the land is arable, and there are few rivers or other dependable sources of fresh water. Somalia faces daunting food and water management issues that have often reached a state of crisis.

5 OCEANS AND SEAS Seacoast and Undersea Features The Gulf of Aden, an inlet of the Indian Ocean, lies to the north of Somalia and separates the country from Yemen. Because it leads to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Aden is a crucial shipping lane, particularly for petroleum vessels. The eastern coast of Somalia directly faces the Indian Ocean. Sea Inlets and Straits There are no major inlets on Somalia's coastline. Islands and Archipelagos The Bajuni is a 125-kilometer- (77-mile-) long coral reef chain of several small islands and many islets or rocks. It includes Coiama (Somalia's largest island, covering 6 square kilometers/2.5 square miles), Ngumi, the Ciovai pair, Ciula (inhabited), Daracas, and Ciandra. Most of the islands are barren and without permanent settlement. Coastal Features Somalia has the second-longest coastline in Africa (only South Africa's is longer.) The northern coast, along the Gulf of Aden, begins on the west at the border of Djibouti.

Sandy beaches are interspersed with rocky cliffs, and the north coast has no reefs. Ras Caseyr (Cape Guardafui) is a rugged headland where the north and east coasts meet. Due south of the Cape, the Point Xaafuun (Ras Hafun) promontory juts out. From there, the Indian Ocean coast runs south in a succession of sandy beaches with little indentation. Along the southern stretch, from Mogadishu to the Kenya border, coral reefs form a barrier to the shore, which lacks natural harbors. 6 INLAND LAKES Somalia does not have any permanent lakes. In the Haud, some basins are filled by rains and intermittent floodwater, creating temporary ponds. Somalia also has artificial ponds designed to capture precious seasonal waters for irrigation and drinking. Wells and springs are of great importance to Somalia's water supply. 7 RIVERS AND WATERFALLS Somalia's two permanently flowing rivers, the Jubba (Gestro) and Shabeelle, are used for irrigation but are not navigable by large boats. The Jubba and Shabeelle Rivers both have their sources in Ethiopia and run south through Somalia towards the Indian Ocean.

The Jubba River is approximately 1,610 kilometers (1,000 miles) long. The Shabeelle River, the country's longest river, has a total length of 2,011 kilometers (1,250 miles), of which only 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) run through Somalia. The Jubba River empties directly into the Indian Ocean in southern Somalia. To its north, the Shabeelle River flows towards the coast, then turns southeast following the coast, dwindling to its end in marshlands and sand flats. In times of heavy rain, the Shabeelle waters can meet those of the Jubba. The area between the two rivers is Somalia's most fertile region. The Jubba/Shabeelle river system and the seasonal watercourses found in badly eroded, deforested, and desert terrain are highly vulnerable to sporadic flooding. The wetlands of Somalia surround the outlet of the Jubba River and the lower reaches of the Shabeelle River, where swamp basins are the habitat of birds and reptiles. Some mangrove forests are still found in Somalia, especially along the Jubba outlet, but most have been destroyed by cutting for fuel and fodder.

The two largest watercourses in northern Somalia are the seasonal Daror and Nugaaleed stream systems. Both are usually dry. 8 DESERTS About 25 percent of Somalia is desert, usually consisting of sand or gravel mixed with some vegetation. The deserts run along most of Somalia's northern and central coasts and extend into the interior. Desertification is steadily claiming grassland and wooded areas across Somalia. On the Gulf of Aden coast, the Guban Desert is a hot, dry plain with a system of sandy seasonal watercourses. The arid Hobyo region extends north from Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, along the Indian Ocean coast. It is a desert with low vegetation that is a habitat for birds, reptiles, and antelopes. Over-grazing of the grasses that anchored the dunes in place has destabilized areas of sand dunes along the Indian Ocean coast. 9 FLAT AND ROLLING TERRAIN Up to 70 percent of Somalia is a scrubland ecosystem of coarse grass-patches and shrubs. This terrain is especially pervasive in the Haud Plateau region of the north and throughout the south. The scrub vegetation receives minimal rain, but it is resilient.

Where there is water, as in the area between the Jubba and Shabelle Rivers, good pastureland results. Nomadic Somalis pasture their herds of camels, cattle, goats, and sheep on the scrub grasslands. Much of Somalia's grassland is being lost to desertification as a result of over-grazing and the cutting of fodder grass for export to neighboring countries. Somalia has only 1 percent of its forest cover remaining, mainly located in the far south. Trees are cut for fuel, fodder, and livestock shelters, and there is very little reforestation. The southern forest includes eucalyptus, tall cactus, and mahogany. Trees that provide myrrh and frankincense are also native to Somalia. The north has some acacia scrub and savannah forest. In the northern region called the Ogo, limestone hills at elevations of 900 to 1,200 meters (2,953 to 3,937 feet) distinguish a rough terrain dissected with dried-up streambeds. The hills are covered with scrub vegetation, which provides grazing for livestock and antelopes.

10 MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOES Somalia's only mountains, the Migiurtinia and Ogo ranges, are in the north, extending from Ethiopia and following the Gulf of Aden coast with a high escarpment until the cliffs form the tip of the Horn of Africa. Somalia's highest peak, Mount Shimbiris, rises 2,416 meters (7,927 feet) at the center of the northern range. 11 CANYONS AND CAVES Throughout Somalia, soil erosion has caused gullies and canyons to appear. A lack of roads has led to trucks being driven across pastures, eroding gullies in the dry soil. Seasonal watercourses also carve deep ravines into the landscape. 12 PLATEAUS AND MONOLITHS South of the mountains, the dry Somali Plateau continues from eastern Ethiopia's Ogaden region to become the Ogo Plateau, the Mudug Plain, and the Haud region of central/southwest Somalia. These plateau regions vary in height from 1,829 meters (6,000 feet) in the Ogo to 500 meters (1,640 feet) in the Haud.

13 MAN-MADE FEATURES There are no major man-made structures affecting the geography of Somalia. 14 FURTHER READING D'Haem, Jeanne. The Last Camel: True Stories About Somalia. Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press, 1997. Fox, Mary Virginia. Somalia . New York: Children's Press, 1996. Hassig, Susan M. Somalia . Cultures of the World. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1998. Nnoromele, Salome. Somalia . San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 2000.

Web Sites Gulf of Aden Security Review - July 26, 2016 | Critical Threats Gulf of Aden Security Review Gulf of Aden Security Review - July 26, 2016 Yemen: Kuwaiti emir expresses skepticism for Yemeni peace talks; President Hadi meets with UN Special Envoy for Yemen in Mauritania; al Houthi chairman reaffirms commitment to ceasefire as Hadi and al Houthi-Saleh fighters agree to local ceasefire in Taiz Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab militants conduct SVBIED attack on UN and AMISOM compound in Mogadishu; Somali special forces attack al Shabaab positions in Awdhegle, Lower Shabelle region; al Shabaab militants behead elder in Qansah Dhere, Bay region Yemen Security Brief Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al Ahmad al Jaber al Sabah, host of the Yemeni peace negotiations, stated on July 25 that talks have failed to produce an agreement. Al Sabah added that “hope remains pinned on the Yemeni delegations” to arrive at a political settlement.

Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al Jarallah issued the Yemeni delegations an ultimatum on July 20 to reach an agreement within 15 days or leave Kuwait. [1] President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi met with UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on the sidelines of Arab League Summit in Nouakchott, Mauritania on July 25. President Hadi expressed his desire for a political solution but averred that the al Houthi-Saleh forces refused to cooperate. [2] Al Houthi Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Council Mohammed Ali al Houthi reaffirmed the al Houthi faction’s commitment to the national ceasefire, noting that al Houthi leadership repeatedly called for a political solution as the only way forward. President of the De-escalation and Ceasefire Committee Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Nayef stated that al Houthi-Saleh and Hadi government forces will sign a local ceasefire in Taiz governorate within the next two days. Tribes from Taiz and Ibb governorates will oversee the agreement. Popular resistance forces seized al Sarari area east of Mt.

Sabir, Taiz governorate from al Houthi-Saleh forces on July 26, after a local agreement to allow non-resident al Houthi fighters to leave the area failed. [3] Horn of Africa Security Brief Al Shabaab militants conducted a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) attack on a UN and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) base in Mogadishu on July 26. A militant detonated a SVBIED at the gate of Halane Base Camp. A second suicide bomber then attempted to enter the compound but detonated his suicide vest (SVEST) at the gate when security forces opened fire. The attack killed at least 12 AMISOM and UN officials and injured 17 others. [4] An elite Somali special forces unit drove al Shabaab militants from Awdhegle town in Lower Shabelle region Somalia on July 25. The U.S.-trained Danab unit, accompanied by AMISOM forces, also attacked an al Shabaab training camp near Awdhegle. [5] Al Shabaab militants beheaded a respected local elder in Qansah Dhere in Bay region on July 25.

Al Shabaab executed Aden Abdullah for cooperating with the Somali Federal Government. [6] [1] "Emir of Kuwait regretfully: Consultations peace Yemen have not succeeded in reaching an agreement," al Masdar, July 25, 2016, ; and "Kuwait issues ultimatum to Yemen negotiators," al Arabiya, July 21, 2016, . [2] “President of the Republic meets UN envoy for Yemen in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott,” Saba New, July 25, 2016, . [3] “Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee reiterates its commitment to the cease-fire,” Saba News, July 25, 2016, ; "Chairman of the Committee truce in Taiz reveals a prospective cease-fire," Barakish, July 26, 2016, ; and “Taiz: resistance seizes control of al Sarari,” Barakish, July 26, 2016, .

[4] “At least nine UN guards and three Amisom soldiers killed in twin explosion in Mogadishu,” Goobjoog News, July 26, 2016, ; “UN and AMISOM deny any staff casualty in Mogadishu bomb explosions,” Goobjoog News, July 26, 2016, ; “Al Shabab claims credit for attack at Mogadishu airport,” Shabelle News, July 26, 2016, ; and “Suicide bombers hit peacekeeping base in Somali capital, 13 dead: police,” Reuters, July 26, 2016, . [5] “Foreign, SNA forces raid Al-Shabaab base in Somalia,” Shabelle News, July 25, 2016, ; “Somali commandos destroy Al-shabaab camp in Aw-dhegle-Government,” Goobjoog News, July 26, 2016, ; and “AMISOM and SNA pull out of Aw-Dhegle town,” Goobjoog News, July 26, 2016, .

[6] “Al Shabaab beheads respected elder in southern Somalia,” Shabelle News, July 25, 2016, . « Pirates of Somalia - Photos - The Big Picture - Boston.com Pirates of Somalia Somali pirates continue their attacks against international ships in and around the Gulf of Aden, despite the deterrent of stepped-up international naval escorts and patrols - and the increased failure rate of their attacks. Under agreements with Somalia, the U.N, and each other, ships belonging to fifteen countries now patrol the area. Somali pirates - who have won themselves nearly $200 million in ransom since early 2008 - are being captured more frequently now, and handed over to authorities in Kenya, Yemen and Somalia for trial. Collected here are some recent photos of piracy off the coast of Somalia, and the international efforts to rein it in. ( 30 photos total ) Pirates flee from the German navy as the frigate Rheinland-Pfalz intercepted them in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's coast on March 3, 2009. The German navy detained nine people on March 3, 2009 after they tried to attack a German merchant ship, German media reported.

(REUTERS/Bundeswehr) 2 This handout photo shows Somali pirates hijacking the MV Faina, a cargo ship owned and operated by Kaalbye Shipping Ukraine on September 25, 2008. The pirates ultimately released the MV Faina and its cargo of 33 Soviet-era T-72 tanks plus other weapons on February 5, 2009 following a ransom payment of $3.2 million, a local man who helped negotiate the deal said. (REUTERS/U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs/Handout/Files) # 3 In this photo released by the United States Navy, Somali pirates holding the merchant vessel MV Faina stand on the deck of the ship after a U.S. Navy request to check on the health and welfare of the ship's crew in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia. (AP Photo/U.S.Navy, Petty Officer Jason Zalasky) # 4 The crew of the hijacked Ukrainian merchant vessel MV Faina stand on the deck, under the watch of armed Somali pirates on November 9 after a US Navy request to check on their health and welfare, at sea off the coast of Somalia.

(HO/AFP/Getty Images) # 5 A French Atlantic plane passes over the French Frigate Le Floreal of the EPE (Embedded Protection Team), in the Gulf of Aden on January 10, 2009, as they escort a Danish ship with sensitive freight, off the coast of Djibouti, as part of an assignment to escort commercial ships in this area. (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/Getty Images) # 6 Suspected pirates keep their hands in the air as directed by sailors aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) (not shown), in the Gulf of Aden, February 11, 2009. A multinational naval force seized the seven suspected pirates in the first such action in its anti-piracy campaign, the U.S. Navy said. (REUTERS/Jason R. Zalasky/U.S. Navy/Handout) # 7 Search and seizure team members from the guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf close in to apprehend suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden February 11, 2009.

The Vella Gulf is the flagship for Combined Task Force 151, a multi-national task force conducting counterpiracy operations to detect and deter piracy in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Red Sea. (Jason R. Zalasky/AFP/Getty Images) # 9 The MV Sirius Star is observed at anchor by the US Navy on January 9, 2009 following an apparent payment via a parachuted container to pirates holding the Sirius Star. Suspected pirates can be seen on deck an up in the command center. (David B. Hudson/AFP/Getty Images) # 10 A parachute dropped by a small aircraft is observed by the U.S. Navy as it drops over the MV Sirius Star during an apparent payment via a parachuted container to pirates holding the Sirius Star off the coast of Somalia, January 9, 2009. Somali pirates then freed the Saudi supertanker seized in the world's biggest ship hijacking for a $3 million ransom - but five drowned when their boat capsized as they were making off with their share. (REUTERS/David B. Hudson/U.S.

Navy photo/Handout) # 13 Commandos from French frigate Le Floreal arrest nine Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden in this January 27, 2009 photo released on Wednesday by the French Navy. As foreign navies fight increasingly brazen gangs that hijack commercial vessels in busy shipping lanes. France has captured 57 pirates in seven such operations since last April. (HO/Reuters) # 14 This photo taken Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009 and provided by French Defense Ministry shows suspected pirates, intercepted by Marine commandos of the French Navy in the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia coasts. French government officials say the Jean de Vienne intercepted and captured 19 pirates Sunday as they tried to take over two cargo ships, one Croatian and the other Panamanian.

(AP Photo/French Navy/French Defense Ministry/HO) # 15 Picture released by the German Bundeswehr on March 4, 2009 shows Bundeswehr soldiers approaching pirates in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia on March 3, 2009, after frigate Rheinland-Pfalz (background) had received a distress call from a German-owned container ship saying she was under fire from pirates armed with bazookas and machine guns. The frigate then dispatched a helicopter which together with another chopper from the US naval ship Monterey stopped the attempted attack by firing warning shots. German soldiers boarded the pirate vessel and took the nine into custody, the German military said. (BUNDESWEHR/AFP/Getty Images) # 19 A rusty Kalashnikov assault rifle, confiscated from pirates detained by German navy from frigate Rheinland-Pfalz in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's coast on March 3, 2009, in this picture made available on March 4, 2009. The German navy detained nine people on March 3, 2009 after they tried to attack a German merchant ship, German media reported.

(REUTERS/Bundeswehr) # 20 Somali pirates captured in the Gulf of Aden are presented to the Puntland marine forces in the northern port town of Bosasso, Somalia on March 2, 2009. U.S. forces handed over nine pirates to Somali authorities of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland on Monday, said local official. (REUTERS/Stringer) # 21 Seven Somalian pirates are led to court by Kenyan police officers on March 6, 2009 at the port town of Mombasa, Kenya. US Naval vessel VSS Leyte Gulf intercepted last month the pirates off the Somalian coast as they attempted to board a merchant vessel. (STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images) # 22 Some of the eight suspected Somali pirates at the Mombasa Law courts, Mombasa, Kenya, Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009, when the hearing of their piracy case started. The pirates were arrested early last month by naval officers from a British Naval Ship MV Knight Wave which has been on patrol along the Indian Ocean waters. Two British Naval officers were the first to give their evidence against the pirates.

The hearing of the case will continue for three days.(AP Photo) # 23 In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, ransom money is dropped near the Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina while under observation by a U.S. Navy ship February 4, 2009 off the coast of Somalia near Hobyo. Pirates did not leave the ship until February 5. (Michael R. McCormick/U.S. Navy via Getty Images) # 24 The Belize flagged MV Faina is escorted by a Kenyan port authority tug vessel into the port of Mombasa, Kenya on February 12, 2009, after it was released by Somali pirates a week ago. It arrived in Mombasa amid a raging controversy over its cargo of battle tanks and ammunition. While Kenya has always said the shipment was for its armed forces, several experts and diplomats in the region have revealed it was in fact destined to the government of South Sudan and was the fifth delivery of its kind in less than two years.

(TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images) # 26 Suspected pirates wait to be moved at the port in Mombassa, Kenya, Tuesday, March 10, 2009, after they were handed over to Kenyan police by the German navy who arrested them off the coast of Somalia the previous week. The frequency of attacks has actually increased since last year: 31 reported were reported in January and February compared to 111 for the whole of 2008, but the pirates are finding it harder to seize vessels. (AP Photo) # 27 File picture dated April 22, 2008 shows Yemeni coast guards on standby next to the damaged Japanese tanker Takayama, that was attacked by pirates following its arrival in the southern Yemeni port of Aden. Half of the its members don't know how to swim and they don't have enough boats, leaving Yemen's coast guards struggling to meet the enormous maritime challenges facing one of the world's poorest nations; piracy.

(KHALED FAZAA/AFP/Getty Images) # 28 German Bundeswehr soldiers approach pirates in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia on March 3, 2009, after the German frigate Rheinland-Pfalz had received a distress call from a German-owned container ship saying she was under fire from pirates armed with bazookas and machine guns. (BUNDESWEHR/AFP/Getty Images) #

Question: What gulf separates Yemen and Somalia?
Answer: Gulf of Aden